Track wall system

ABSTRACT

The track wall system includes at least one elongated track having a base and opposite sidewalls extending from the base, the base and sidewalls defining a stud layout trough therebetween, each of the sidewalls includes a plurality of pairs of discontinuous stud holding notches disposed at regular intervals along the length of the track, each pair of stud holding notches defines a space therebetween adapted to hold a stud, a plurality of studs disposed between opposing pairs of stud holding notches, and each notch includes projections that securely holds the stud for fast and reliable installation of a wall frame . . . .

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to wall framing assemblies, moreparticularly, a track wall system that reduces time required to set up awall frame.

2. Description of the Related Art

In commercial and residential construction, wall framing has long been atedious and exacting task, both for load bearing and non-load bearingwalls. Each track of the wall frame must be accurately measured andmarked for placement of studs at regular intervals along the lengththereof. This is a repetitive and time-consuming process, which resultsin sub-optimal financial spending for time worked and the time requiredfor the resultant structure. One method of solving this issue has beento use a wall frame system that includes tracks with regularly spacedshaped indentions that may be mated to corresponding shaped indentionson the to be installed steel studs. However, this type of systemrequires more effort and additional steps due to the snap fit or matednature of the connection between the track and stud indentions and/orworking of the track walls to fit the indentions thereon to the ones onthe studs. Thus, while time may be saved in the initial layout of thestuds on the tracks, the time spent to install the studs reduces the netsavings in time.

Thus, a track wall system solving the aforementioned problems isdesired.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The track wall system includes at least one elongated track having abase and opposite sidewalls together defining a stud layout troughtherebetween, each of the sidewalls includes a plurality of pairs ofdiscontinuous stud holding notches disposed at regular intervals alongthe length of the track, each pair of stud holding notches defines aspace therebetween adapted to hold a stud, a plurality of studs disposedbetween opposing pairs of stud holding notches, and each notch includesprojections that securely holds the stud for fast installation of a wallframe.

These and other features of the present invention will become readilyapparent upon further review of the following specification anddrawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is an environmental, perspective view of a track wall systemaccording to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged partial perspective view of the track wall systemaccording to the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a top view of the track of a track wall system according tothe present invention.

Similar reference characters denote corresponding features consistentlythroughout the attached drawings.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

The present invention relates to a track wall system for framing a wallin a secure, fast and reliable manner. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, thetrack wall system 10 includes an elongated bottom track 20, an elongatedtop track 40, wall studs 30 disposed between the top and bottom tracks40, 20 and spaced along the length thereof, and a plurality of pairs ofstud holding notches 25, 25 that securely hold the respective stud inplace. The tracks may be constructed from steel or any other similarmaterial suitable for framing. The studs may be made from wood,structural steel or other material suitable to form the frame andoptionally support loads in a load-bearing setup.

The following describes more details of the bottom track 20 andinstallation of the stud 30. It is to be understood that the top track40 is similarly constructed. Referring to FIG. 2, the elongated bottomtrack 20 includes a base 23 and opposite sidewalls 21, 22 extending fromthe base 23 to thereby form a substantial U-shape in cross section. Thespace between the sidewalls 21, 22 form a stud layout trough whereby thestuds 30 may be laid at predetermined intervals. Each of the sidewalls21, 22 have a plurality of pairs of discontinuous stud holding notches25, 25 formed on the edge of the sidewall away from the base 23. Thespacing between each pair of notches 25, 25 conform to standard layoutspacing of studs, e.g. 8, 16, 24 in. Each notch 25 is formed by making acut along the top edge of the sidewall 21 and bending a portion thesidewall inwardly toward the trough at an angle. The bent portion of thesidewall subsequently forms a stud holding projection 26. The spacingbetween the notches 25, 25 correspond to the thickness of the stud 30,and the opposite sidewall 22 also includes similarly formed notches 25,25 in alignment with the ones on the sidewall 21 to thereby securelyhold the stud 30 therebetween.

It is noted that the notches 25, 25 of each pair have the projections26, 26 extending in mirror opposite directions, i.e. one of theprojections 26, 26 is bent toward the right while the other is benttoward the left. See FIG. 3. The purpose thereof is two fold. On the onehand, the projections from both sidewalls stabilize centering of thestud 30 in the track 20, and on the other hand, the configuration of theangled projections function as a guide to slide the stud 30 in place.

The following describes how the track wall system 10 is used. To form awall frame, the user places the bottom track 20 on the floor or worksurface. The track 20 is already prefabricated to include the studholding notches 25, 25 spaced at the proper predefined intervals alongthe track 20. The user then slides a stud 30 between opposing pairs ofnotches 25, 25 on the sidewalls 21, 22 and snaps the stud in place. Thisprocess is repeated along the length of track 20. Preferably, each stud30 is secured to the bottom track 20 by a fastener 12. Once the studs 30have been properly centered and laid out along bottom track 20, the toptrack 40 may be slidably fit over the tops of the studs 30. The toptrack 40 may optionally be secured to the studs by fasteners 12. Anunfastened top track 40 allows for some deflection and movement of thewall frame to compensate for irregular levels or loads. The completedframe is then mounted at a predefined location in preparation forsubsequent drywall installation or wall covering.

Another method of using the track wall system 10 includes initialinstallment of both the top and bottom tracks 40, 20. Once the tracks20, 40 are leveled and installed, the studs 30 may snap fit into placealong the tracks 20, 40.

Thus, it can be seen that the track wall system 10 allows for a fast,accurate and reliable assembly of a wall frame. The track wall system 10eliminates much of the time and handling required for laying out thewall frame on-site due to the prefabricated layout present in the trackwall system 10. In the construction industry, the timesaving of thetrack wall system 10 provides a significant financial impact.

It is noted that the track wall system 10 may encompass a variety ofalternatives to the various features thereof. For example, the trackwall system 10 is not limited in application to walls per se. It may beused for other framing applications such as doors, windows, mantles,etc. Moreover, the track wall system 10 may be configured to accommodatea variety of stud dimensions and spacing. The tracks and the notchesthereon may be molded or preformed. The projections 26 may also be of adifferent shape than the triangular one shown in the drawings. Forexample, the projections 26, 26 may be square or rectangular shape aslong as they function as a holder and a stud installation guide.

It is to be understood that the present invention is not limited to theembodiments described above, but encompasses any and all embodimentswithin the scope of the following claims.

1. A track wall system, comprising: an elongated bottom track and toptrack, each of the tracks having a base and opposing sidewalls extendingfrom the base to define a stud layout trough therebetween, each of thesidewalls having an elongated edge opposite the base and at least onepair of stud holding notches defined in each of the edges; a projectionextending from each of the notches; and at least one stud disposedbetween opposing pairs of stud holding notches and between the top andbottom tracks, each of the opposing pair of stud holding notches beingspaced at regular predefined layout intervals along each of thesidewalls to thereby eliminate on-site measuring of a particular wallframe layout.
 2. The track wall system according to claim 1 wherein eachof the tracks is substantially U-shaped in cross section.
 3. The trackwall system according to claim 1, wherein the notches in each of thepairs are spaced apart by the thickness of the stud.
 4. The track wallsystem according to claim 1, wherein each said projection extendsinwardly toward the stud layout trough at an angle.
 5. The track wallsystem according to claim 1, wherein each said projection of said atleast one pair of notches is disposed in mirror opposite configurationwith respect to each other.
 6. The track wall system according to claim1, wherein each said projection is substantially triangular.